New Jersey's Bob Russell collects a variety of instruments, music and related memorabilia.

Longtime reader Bob Russell of of New Jersey has been part of Goldmine’s collecting family since the 1980s. He collects everything from guitars and amps to old discs — and he’ll even give you a sneak peek with his video tour. Would you like to join Bob and be profiled as one of Our Readers? Send an e-mail today to goldminemag@fwmedia.com!

What do you do for a living?
Retired. I did have a lot of jobs. I even owned a small business in New Jersey.

How did you get into music collecting?
BR: Started in the ’50s, when my mother took my brother and me to the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, N.J., to see the rock and roll shows — and The Three Stooges opened!

What’s your record-collecting motto/philosophy?
BR: It it’s at a garage sale and it has dust on it — it’s for me!

What’s your favorite musical act of all time?
BR: The Who — not just for the music, but for what they did for me at the moment: seeing them live, opening for Herman’s Hermits and watching them perform at Drew University in New Jersey. It was the time and the moment for sure — nothing in the world like it. I also saw them at the Murray The K Easter show with Cream, Blues Project and many, many other great acts, all for $3. It was unbelievable!

What is the focus of your collection?
BR: I think I really have enough right now (yeah, right), so my real focus is to put everything in some kind of order!

What is your most-prized item?
BR: My two Danny Gatton guitars. But of course, my first two guitars that I got when I was a kid, along with my first amps, that would be my Fender Mustang, Gibson ES 335, — Vox Viscount amp and my Kustom 100 amp.

What’s your method of collecting? Where do you usually find the best bargains?
BR: Any and all garage sales, and flea markets — sometimes in the newspapers. I just always look, but I am running out of space!

Who’s your favorite record store operator/record dealer, and why?
BR: I only kinda deal with one dealer, and that is John Tefteller — and I found him in the ’80s from your great magazine! If John says that a record is “such and such,” it is — he is truly the best. I rate him as I would George Gruhn (guitar expert). They are really the best “go-to people” in the world.